Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality by Jack Rogers provides a practical resource firmly grounded in contemporary theological thinking to anyone grappling with the reconciliation of their Christian faith and homosexuality. Rogers approaches the topic from a Presbyterian perspective, having faithfully served the Lord in a distinguished career as a pastor, theologian and leader in the Presbyterian church. He explores the traditional Christian treatment of homosexuality by identifying poignant similarities between it and past racial and gender discrimination in the church. Rogers and interrogation of biblical texts classically used to condemn homosexuality is crisp and illuminating, raising profound questions and pointing to the danger of non-contextual interpretation. The gentle tone of his Christ-centered argument is persuasive and invokes deep contemplation about a matter that is at the forefront of social and spiritual debate. Irrespective of one's opinion on the matter, I have little doubt that this book will in some way touch the hearts of all who read it.
Jean Pitot, April, 2014 (Jean and his wife, Robyn, attended Covenant during their 6-month stay in Madison in 2014. Jean was a Fulbright scholar studying solar power.
Jean and Robyn are now back in their home in South Africa.)

Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church by Jack Rogers. Epiphany Library section 7 E: The Church in the World, Hot Button Issues. This extraordinary book published in 2006 by an Episcopal pastor, whose field of expertise is Biblical interpretation, argues for full inclusion for gay and lesbian people in the church and the clergy. He discusses how his mind was changed over the years from using seven “clobber passages” in the Bible that exclude and demonize gay and lesbian people, to reconciliation with, and welcome of gay and lesbian people to full membership and leadership in the Episcopal church. Bishop Gene Robinson was the first, and is still the most visible, gay Episcopal cleric. None of the dire warnings prior to his election about the sinful “lifestyle” of gay people have come true. His sexual orientation has become a non-issue because it was not a problem to start with, except for those who are exclusionary.
While dealing with this important issue Rogers changed his mind from exclusion to inclusion by reinterpreting those clobber passages as inapplicable to our modern understanding of homosexuality (recall that Biblical interpretation is his field of expertise). Second, for those who call the Bible inerrant, he reminds us that the church has changed its mind on a number of issues, most importantly, the Biblical justification for slavery and the role of women in church. Note that these are power issues important to denominations’ changing structures of male hierarchy. Secondly, he says that when deciding about such contentious power issues, the broader view of Christ’s teachings is more important than single bible passages that have questionable bearing on modern day issues, especially issues related to sex, gender or human rights. Jesus’ whole ministry was about empowering the powerless, who were ready to commit to a new kingdom of God on earth: the illiterate, the poor, homeless wanders, the disabled, the humble, and those with no political voice or access to power.
Today, the last such scapegoats are gay people, Rogers, says, who until quite recently were scorned by churches and their leaders (as he did). With the aid of the Holy Spirit, this is changing in the Episcopalian church as it is in our own ELCA: the former discriminatory celibacy rule for ELCA pastors has been lifted.
Rogers says nobody need fear gay and lesbian people because they are our own family members. They share with straight family members and society the same values of responsibility, love, decency, and patriotism. By making gays feel unwelcome at church, we force families with gay loved ones to choose between family bonds or church membership. This is terrible, Rogers maintains. When we do it, we ignore and disrespect gay and lesbian people’s God-createdness, their honesty and courage, their faith and leadership skills, their willing helping hands, and their wholesome family values.
If you still have problems accepting gay people, do give this book a look. Over the years, I, like Rogers, have realized that God offers us many more friends than we allow God to give us. It’s that simple. ( )

Rogers provides a good overview of the reasons why condemning homosexuality within the church is a hurtful and counter-productive activity, citing both Biblical quotes that many take out of context, and historical precedents in which women and African Americans did not have full rights to participation in Christian fellowship.

The book could have been written better, however, as the author assumes a familiarity that readers who are not very familiar with either the Presbyterian Church or the Bible would have. It would have benefited from a more detailed explanation of the structure of the Presbyterian Church, as I found the discussion of the various councils quite confusing. Furthermore, in one chapter Rogers mentions that Romans 1 is a Biblical source that individuals often use in their denunciation of homosexuality, yet he never provides the reader with a direct quotation or even a brief explanation of its content. ( )

Roger's book is an accessible exploration of the history of Presbyterian biblical interpretation. It is also the story of how he came to an understanding of the Bible that does not condemn gay and lesbian Christians. He begins with his own theological journey as a route to explore the ways in the past that the Bible has been used to defend oppression and the parallels to how those mistakes are repeated today.

Roger's book is ideal for clergy and laity in the Presbyterian Church or other mainstream denominations. ( )